New place for a cigar in Melbourne,

[El Presidente]

Finding a place to smoke a cigar in Australia is as rare as a whorehouse with a happy hour. 

 

 

A sultry new Latin-inspired rooftop bar in Melbourne is serving up cigars, cocktails and vino

Follow the red neon glow upstairs

Written by 

Lauren Dinse

Wednesday 10 April 2024

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Joining the likes of Polly, Siglo and Candela Nuevo, there's a new rooftop bar in Melbourne serving up luxury cigars alongside its drinks. Christened Santana, the venue is a project from Abjar Kasho, the owner and founder of Bouvardia, which won our Best Cocktail Bar award in 2023.

Abjar and his team soft-launched Santana near the end of March after planning the space for over a year in collaboration with sister duo design team Studio Martin. The bright Miami Art Deco fitout of former occupant Pomelo Rooftop (since closed) has been replaced with a slinky dark haven with neon red signage, warm accents and Melbourne weather-friendly touches for the cooler months. Yes, we can totally see ourselves heading upstairs for a spicy rum potion or two this winter. Aside from cigars, the bar also specialises in South American wine, cocktails and premium brown spirits. 

 

 

Photograph: Supplied / Santana Rooftop

Get your caffeine fix with a Dominicana, a blend of dark rum, Okar mocha coffee liqueur and cream, or cosy up with the Canelazo, a mix of white rum with orange, lime, cloves and cinnamon – this one's served warm. On the vino front, all bottles hail from Argentina and Chile, except two bubbly choices from Italy and France.

The beer list is small, but it’s the spirits list where you can go wild and discover new territory – from Scottish whisky and Venezuelan rum to tequila, brandy and Cognac. 

Located at Level 3, 169 Melbourne Place, the bar is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 4pm to 11pm. For more information, visit the website.

[Fuzz]

  On 4/10/2024 at 7:19 PM, El Presidente said:

Finding a place to smoke a cigar in Australia is as rare as a whorehouse with a happy hour. 

 

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Isn't any hour in a whorehouse a happy hour?

[westg]

  On 4/10/2024 at 11:51 PM, Fuzz said:

Isn't any hour in a whorehouse a happy hour?

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Ha , pay that 🤣 you receive a special day rate is that right 🤔

[MrFolgers]

You had me at cigars...and cocktails...and vino. 😳

[Bill Hayes]

Heading into the CBD on Friday for dinner. May have to leave earlier. Hopefully open in the afternoon. Thanks for the heads up @El Presidente. It looks spot on for what it is delivering. Cheers.

[Marco_011t556]

  On 4/10/2024 at 11:51 PM, Fuzz said:

Isn't any hour in a whorehouse a happy hour?

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But you can’t buy 1 get 1 free 😂😂

[Fuzz]

  On 4/11/2024 at 4:22 AM, 011t556 said:

But you can’t buy 1 get 1 free 😂😂

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Depends on where you go and your level of custom. 😜

[Bill Hayes]

Went here on Friday late afternoon. Nice rooftop bar with a reasonable selection of rum, whisky and whiskey. A nice bloke called Jack was running the bar. He was happy to let you guys know that you can BYO cigars. I brought a HU half corona. A limited supply of cigars there but I purchased a small thin Cohiba. Nice little ashtrays for each brand you are smoking. They have cutters, lighter etc and I let Jack light mine. All good, although the cigar I brought was a touch wet for the cool conditions. I personally really liked it because it was casual and relaxed and the people were nice. Small menu of cocktails but Jack said you could order pretty much anything and he'll make it. Of course, I ordered an El Presidente. Ha ha! And a nice Macallan. Quick visit but an good starting point from 4pm to head out to dinner afterwards. Did my racing form. No good there. Doh! And my horse bombed. Back to the drawing board. Cheers. Here's a few pics.